Total Eclipse of the Heart
by Botan Hanayuki
Summary: Yusuke is dumped by Keiko and he realizes his true feelings when no one else except Botan is there to console him. «BotanxYusukex» No Keiko bashin! :(


I had never been more in love with anyone than I was with him.

.+. A very long _F l a s h b a c k_ .+.

'_Floating up here..It's like being a bird_,' I thought dreamily as I soared amongst the clouds, the late afternoon sun blinding me at times as I made my way down to the human world. I had asked Yusuke to meet me at the nearest park today, not for any special occasion, but just to talk. It had been atleast three months since our last mission; since we last saw each other's faces, and begun to get quite lonely up in ReiKai, with only my work to keep me company. Koenma was always too busy for a quiet lunch in the garden or anything..But it was kind of hard to expect him not to be, being the prince of ReiKai and all. Yusuke never seemed to occupy my mind much, but lately he was wandering my thoughts so frequently it was scary.

**..Turn around**

**Every now and then I get a  
little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears..**

I didn't know what to think nowadays, but since I had the week off, I decided to check up on our little spirit detective.

I was still lost in thought, questioning myself about various things before I realized I had arrived in the human world.

"Oh, well, here I am!" I said with a cheerful smile, glancing about at the scenery below. The city life in itself was a change from the endless clouds of ReiKai that I welcomed.

I traveled the skies for a bit before I found myself above the park nearest to Yusuke and Atsuko's apartment. I flew to the ground, tucked my oar into an invisible place, and assumed a human form. Nothing fancy; I left my hair as it was, and I wore a simple pair of jeans and an oversized sage green hoodie sweatshirt, the image of a winged unicorn printed across the front, a few pink bangle bracelets adorning my wrists for decoration. I carried a small bag with me that held a few snacks.

"Well, that went alright." I said, looking around for any sign of the spirit detective called Yusuke. When I didn't find him, I trotted further down past the playground, and the first thing that caught my eye as I entered the medium-sized field was the enormous maple tree that stood like a monument there on that hill. It was over thirty feet tall and it's canopy could take your breath away, it's dying leaves painted vivid hues of orange, red and yellow, some of them detatching themselves and fluttering away to some unknown place each time a breeze would pass through. I smiled, and my eyes shifted to the base of the tree, where none other than Yusuke Urameshi was seated.He was wearing his usual green school uniform, andhe had his back to me. I lifted my arm and I was about to call out to him, but just then a mischevous glint came to my eyes and I decided to play a little trick on him. I snuck up the hill behind him as quietly as possible, trying not to draw attention to myself. When I reached the tree, I peered around it's large trunk at Yusuke. He appeared to be sleeping, or was in some sort of deep thought, because he had his eyes closed. I smirked lightly, leaning in close to his ear, and and taking a large intake of breath before shouting rather loudly.

"BOO!" I stepped back with satisfaction, giggling softly as I snuck behind the tree trunk to where he couldn't see me."

"AAAH! HOLY HELL!" He screamed, jumping back to reality and looking about frantically, his expression pissed off as ever. He stood up and started shouting.

"Okay, who the hell just did that!" Passerby pedestrians had begun to stare at him in confusion.

I stepped from behind the tree, whistling softly, my hands behind my back as I put on the "It wasn't me" act.

"Shush Yusuke, you're causing a scene." I smiled sheepishly, probably giving away the fact that I had been the one who shouted at him, though I didn't really care.

Yusuke snorted and rubbed the back of his head. "Well hello to you too misses prankster. Yanno, there are less startling ways to wake a person up." He frowned at me slightly, following me with those deep brown eyes as I stepped from behind the tree.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "And?"

"And you coulda been a little less loud!"

I just laughed and lifted the bag containing the food I had brought infront of his face.

"Look, I brought us some snacks."

"Good, I'm starving!" He said, plopping down into the cool grass with a thud.

I pulled out a bag of cookies I had made myself, two bottles of water, two sandwiches, and placed them upon the small blanket which Yusuke had already opened and put on the ground.

"Okay here, it's not much, but I made them myself so you'd better like them."

"I'll have to see how much I like them after I burst into flames." He laughed and I punched him in the shoulder playfully before swiping a cookie from the bag and began to munch on it hastily.

"Come on, my cooking isn't that bad."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"So," I said, trying to change the subject, "It's been a while. How have you been? I hope you've been going to school!"

He rolled his eyes again, crossing his arms across his chest. "Yeah yeah. I'm only going because Ma and Keiko won't get off my case about it if I don't."

"Well, good."

"Good! How is that good?"

I got up and leaned across the blanket, squishing his nose with my index finger, and he went cross-eyed. "Becauuuuse.. Kids your age should be in school during the day instead of goofing off at the arcade or getting into fights."

"Tch, you're just like those two!" He pushed my hand away, looking frustrated. I sat back down and shook my head slowly.

"You know we're right. And anyway, speaking of Keiko, how are you two doing? Are you guys an item yet?" I asked with sly emphasis on the last sentence. I didn't know just how tender that subject had become.

"Neh." He twitched, staring at the ground infront of him and poking at the grass. "Why does it matter anyway?"

I blinked, tilting my head slightly and softening my voice. "What's the matter, did something happen?"

"Yeah. She dumped me two weeks ago, that's what happened." His voice was suddenly so icy that it made me shiver and he had taken to staring at one of his cookies while he brooded.

I whined softly and my heart went out to him, even if I didn't know exactly what getting dumped felt like. "Aw..I'm so sorry..I thought things were going so well for you guys.." Before I realized what I was doing, I had extended my hand and was gently rubbing one of his.

He pulled his hand away and shoved it in his pocket, turning his head so that he was looking in the direction of some lady walking her dog, although he wasn't even looking at her. He just didn't want to have to face Botan right then. "Yeah, so did I. But I guess I wasn't good enough compared to the other guy she met." He shrugged.

My hand had retreated back into my lap. "Did you try to talk to her?"

"Well, duh. She's always with the other guy, I can never seem to catch her alone."

I heaved a sigh, and figured I'd better leave it at that. I knew Yusuke could get touchy ifone questioned him too much. "….Seen Kurama or Hiei lately?"

"No." He said shortly.

Oddly, I was getting scared. I didn't want him to snap at me again. It hurt so badly, even though I didn't understand why. I got to my feet and brushed my butt free of grass before picking up the food and placing it back in the bag, though I left the cookies infront of him.

"Well, I guess..I guess I should go now. You don't seem to be in the mood to talk, so um.." I paused, unsure of how to proceed. I shook my head and asked myself, "Why am I being so skittish?" Trying to act normal, I smiled and pointed to the cookies.

"You can keep those. Think of it as a get-well present?"

When he didn't say anything, I turned around and was about to leave when I felt a hand grip my wrist firmly.

**..Turn around**

**Every now and then I get a  
little bit lonely and you never come around**

**Turn around**

**Every now and then I get a  
little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears..**

"Yus..ke…?" I started. I heard him from behind me, and although he whispered, I understood every word. He was staring into his lap, and I couldn't see the expression on his face as he spoke.

"Don't go…Not..Not yet."

"Hm? What is it?" I turned around and squatted infront of him, peering at him curiously. He hadn't let go of my hand yet and I was feeling a little nervous.

He must have seen the concern in my face, because when I took his chin in my hand and lifted his face to meet mine, he blushed and jerked his head away in such a sudden movement that I nearly fell backwards.

"I couldn't tell Kuwabara about it..And Kurama and Hiei..." He trailed off. "Aw, what's the use, it's nothing."

I wasn't born yesterday; I knew he wasn't telling me the whole truth.

"What is it?.." I repeated, more softly this time. I was suddenly caught off guard, though,when he suddenly flung himself at me, this time knocking me onto my butt, his arms wrapped tightly around me.

**..And I need you now tonight  
And I need you more than ever  
And if you'll only hold me tight  
We'll be holding on forever  
And we'll only be making it right  
Cause we'll never be wrong together..**

I was astonished and stunned, blushing deeply, and even more so when he let out what sounded like a sob.

"I don't want anyone else to go..Keiko's gone now..And I don't want..You to go too.."

I didn't really know what to do, so I just did what I thought any good friend would do. I wrapped my arms around him as well, and rested my head atop his. I ran my nails up and down his back gently in a light massage in an attempt to relax him.When I looked down, I saw my sweatshirt was stained with his tears.

"Don't worry..I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

He gradually calmed down and just lay there in silence, though he still refused to look at me. I merely smiled, happy to have atleast done some sort of good for him. I wondered if this was the moment I had dreamed of for so long?..No. I couldn't jump to conclusions. "_He's just a hurt friend in need_." I told myself.

Yusuke eventually sat up. I removed my arms from around him he and rubbed at his eyes as if he had something in it, even though we both knew that he didn't.

"Are you okay now?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," he replied. "Sorry if I freaked you out."

I waved my hands, dismissing the comment.

"Oh no, you didn't freak me out at all! It was my –" I was suddenly cut off as, in one swift movement, he had placed his hands firmly on my shoulders and pressed his lips against mine. I felt thewonders of my daydreams envelope me as we plunged into that kiss.

**..Turn around**

**Every now and then I get a  
little bit helpless **

**And I'm lying like a child in your arms..**

When we had finally wrenched ourselves apart, we were both panting profusely, and I pressed my face into his shoulder, unsure of what to do or say, if I could manage anything at all. I was so surprised and strangely happy that I hadn't pushed him away when he kissed me.

"Yusuke?" I finally asked.

"Yeah?"

"We'll always be friends forever…Won't we?"

"Yeah, of course."

As twilight closed in and the brightly colored maple leaves fell delicately around us, we knew it was true, and undenyable. We wished not only for that friendship to be forever, but for it to evolve into something much more.

**..I really need you tonight  
Forever's gonna start tonight  
Forever's gonna start tonight..**


End file.
